Dell has announced that beginning June 4 Alienware Steam Machine could be pre-ordered online, and would also be available through its official distributors with a starting price $449.99. Vendors EB Games, GAME UK, GameStop, Micromania and Valve are accepting pre-orders for the Steam Hardware, which includes the consoles, Steam controllers and their own streaming device called Steam Link. However, Dell clarified that the pre-orders of the consoles are only applicable in the U.S. as of the moment, but the Steam Controller and Steam Link would be available for pre-orders internationally.
Pre-ordering is for a limited period only and only limited supplies are available, but for those who are successful in their purchase, they would be able to take their console gaming to the next level as early as Oct. 16, a month prior to the official worldwide launching of the Alienware Steam Machine.
The wireless Steam Controller, which costs $49, features unique and customizable touchpad inputs, the left pad, inscribed with a directional pad, and the right one, instead of the usual right thumb stick. The Steam Link would be selling at the same price of $49 and this Steam accessory would allow gamers to stream games at 1080p 60 frames per second from their PC, Mac or Steam Machine directly to the gamer's TV. The Steam Link could also stream movies, music and TV shows based on the Alienware's website.
There would be two models of Steam Machines to choose from. Alienware Steam Machine base configuration would be powered by an Intel Core i3 processor, Nvidia GeForce GTX GPU 2GB GDDR5, 4GB of memory and a 500 GB HDD for $449.99. A 1 TB hard drive upgrade with 8 GB of RAM would cost $549.99 while a processor upgrade to Core i5 with 1 TB hard drive will be at $649.99 and the Core i7 with 1 TB hard drive would be worth $749.99.
The second Steam Machine would be CyberPower's Syber and pricing starts at $499.99. The starting unit would feature an Intel Core i3 processor, an Nvidia GTX 750 with 1GB of RAM, 4GB of RAM, and a 500 GB hard drive. The next model upgrade would be a Core i5 with a GTX 960, 8 GB of RAM, and 1 TB hard drive, while the most powerful Steam Machine would sport a Core i7, 16 GB of RAM, 1 TB hard drive, and a GTX 980 to allow gamers play in 4K resolution at $1419.
All configurations would be bundled with a Steam Controller with over 1,000 local online games playable in full 1080p HD.
